


Strange Arrangements

by benjaminrussell



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Ben Hargreeves is Alive, Canon-Typical Violence, Dimension Travel, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 23:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19095019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminrussell/pseuds/benjaminrussell
Summary: •	False: Ben was violently torn apart by his own powers.•	False: Klaus could see Ben’s ghost.•	False: Ben died.On that fateful day, Ben doesn't die but instead finds himself stuck in another dimension unable to get home. Good thing he's got company...





	Strange Arrangements

**Author's Note:**

> Title from The Look of Love by ABC, continuing the ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ 80s vibe.
> 
> Thanks to [Natalie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntformagic/pseuds/huntformagic) for betaing and fuelling my excitement for this!

When Ben was ripped from his family, it didn’t happen quite how they all thought. They were on yet another mission to defeat yet more bad guys, and it had got to the point where Ben was expected to kill yet again. He’d been dragging his feet because he was fed up of having to use his powers in such a violent way; fed up of the constant overbearing presence of their father; fed up of having no control over his own life, but eventually he couldn’t avoid it any longer as Luther snapped at him, “What are you waiting for?” Pushing the door open that led further into the museum, he cautiously made his way through, locking the door behind him as the usual precaution and then following the hallway until he found the rest of the gang. They were all gathered together in a storage room, drilling through into the vault, so it was easy enough for Ben to step inside quietly and close the door with a sudden click. The gang members all turned to look at him, and upon realising it wasn’t one of their friends they went for their weapons, but the tentacles were already emerging from Ben’s stomach, so it was a futile effort. One of them, a young man who couldn’t be much older than Ben himself, threw himself backwards into a corner and attempted to hide behind a shelf, staring at Ben and the tentacles in terror.

“Please don’t kill me,” He pleaded, as the tentacles started lashing out at the other gang members and blood splattered everywhere, “I didn’t even want to be here.” Ben could see himself in the young man’s eyes, and suddenly the fear and the tiredness and the never being good enough got too much, and he made a decision, purposefully turning his back on the young man in an attempt to save him from the creature that Ben called upon to kill for him. He was scared what their father would do when he found out, but he vowed to himself that no matter the cost, he wouldn’t kill indiscriminately for the old man anymore.

Something about the overwhelming deluge of emotion affected the creature, because the tentacles flung away what was left of the other gang members and turned back on Ben. For a moment he thought they were retreating to their own dimension, but they wrapped around him and Ben knew it wouldn’t be difficult to keep his vow. He was about to die, more or less by his own hand. But then they were tugging him, in one direction instead of into pieces, and with a surge of power he found himself pulled through the portal, briefly expanding from its home in his stomach to encompass his whole body. He couldn’t help the scream that escaped, but then all of a sudden there was no sign of the museum and no sounds other than Ben’s own breathing and the quiet shifting of the tentacles against each other. He found himself being lowered gently onto a cold stone plinth and despite not knowing where he was, he realised he felt safe. Safe and like he was home. The tentacles loosened their grasp and let go, retracting enough to give Ben some space but not leaving the vicinity. Glancing around to survey his surroundings, Ben saw he was in what looked like an ancient temple that was somewhat in disrepair and overgrown with moss, but it really wasn’t what he was focused on right now. Pushing himself to his feet, he turned slowly towards the direction the tentacles seemed to come from, because they were definitely not protruding from his stomach anymore and he honestly had no idea what he was going to see. He might have wondered about it, but he’d never got any indication of what the creature looked like past the tentacles. However, this wasn’t the point he was going to find out, as the tentacles were emerging from a stairwell in the corner of the room that looked like it descended deeper into the temple.

“Hello,” Ben said, not really expecting a response but wanting to break the silence. The creature unsurprisingly didn’t say anything back, but he got a distinct feeling in his mind of welcome. Was that the creature communicating with him? Telepathy wasn’t a big stretch after mind control and ghosts and teleportation, and Ben certainly had some sort of connection with the creature.

Then one of the tentacles moved in a way that Ben could only describe as beckoning him, and lacking anything better to do, he walked towards the stairwell. The tentacles all retracted through the doorway, and Ben followed, examining his surroundings curiously as they went and automatically cataloguing anything that could give him a clue as to his location and anything that could be useful. It was one of the less fucked up skills their father had drilled into them as kids – always be aware of your environment and how to make the most of it. He followed the creature down a level and into a small room that he guessed may have once upon a time been a storeroom, one corner of which was now overtaken by a small purple tinged waterfall where a stream was feeding into the room from outside somewhere. One tentacle gestured Ben towards the waterfall, and then when he didn’t immediately move, it reached out and flicked some water at him. Abruptly reminded that he was covered in blood, Ben started laughing at the idea of the creature trying to clean him up, and then once he’d started laughing, he couldn’t stop. His laughter got more and more hysterical as time passed, unable to help himself even when his face was hurting and he’d long since stopped finding the image amusing.

He was pulled out of the loop by a couple of the tentacles tentatively winding themselves around his shoulders and he realised that at some point he’d ended up knelt on the floor, hands pressed to the ground in front of him. The reassuring although strange pressure of the tentacles allowed him to stop laughing gradually, and then after some undetermined amount of time when he was calm again, they ushered him towards the water. Yeah, that was probably a good idea. Any situation would be made better by not being covered in the blood of people he (they?) killed, so before he could dwell on it too much again, he shakily pushed himself to his feet and stood right under the waterfall. The cold water was a refreshing shock, and as long as he didn’t look down at the blood turning the water red, he could pretend he was just at home, showering after his siblings had taken all the hot water.

Later that day, after he was clean and then dry again and dressed back in his uniform but sans mask, Ben began to explore the temple, wandering through winding corridors and a multitude of rooms of varying sizes and functions. There was no sign of life other than himself and the creature, but he did get the impression that people had lived here once long ago. Although whether they were people in the sense that Ben understood the word, or some completely different sort of intelligent being he would probably never know. In the very bottom of the temple he found what he could only describe as a giant pit, and it was that that the tentacles emerged from. He squinted down into the dark, but he couldn’t see either the bottom or the origin of the tentacles, and he was confronted with how insanely large the creature must be. Ben himself had to be comparatively the size of a mouse to it, and he had the odd realisation that it quite possibly saw him as a tiny pet to be cared for and protected.

Eventually he returned to the room he first appeared in, and reluctantly decided it was time to try and go home. He turned towards the tentacles that, while they had kept their distance while he was exploring, had now returned and were hovering in the doorway. He attempted to project his intent to them, in the same way the creature had projected the impression of ‘home’ and ‘safe’ to him earlier, and while he wasn’t sure how successful he was, the tentacles didn’t immediately surge forward when he concentrated and pulled open the portal. Or well he attempted to open the portal, but there was no familiar tugging in his stomach, and when he pressed his hand against the area to make sure, all he could feel was his uniform and his body underneath. Ben’s heart sank. He didn’t want to go back to the Academy, but he still didn’t want to be stuck in an unknown place with no one but a creature he couldn’t talk to for company. He didn’t even know if he’d be able to survive here. He tried to open the portal again, and then again and again, until eventually he gave in and fell back against the stone plinth in defeat. One of the tentacles reached out and nudged his shoulder, as if it was trying to check he was okay. He wasn’t, but he didn’t want to just give up completely and he certainly didn’t want to have another breakdown, so he forced a smile and said, “Looks like I’m stuck here.” Then his stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten in hours, and he was distracted by more immediate concerns. The creature seemed to pick up on the situation, because it nudged him again, this time pushing him towards the door on the far side of the room that Ben had only stuck his head through earlier. He headed through and down the corridor, following the tentacles’ lead until they eventually came to a larger door that led outside.

Ben stepped through and immediately came to a halt, in awe of the surroundings. At first glance it was similar to certain untouched wildernesses on Earth, with rolling hills and a vast forest in the distance that continued on as far as he could see, but when he looked closer he spotted all the little differences, bits that were just Wrong to his human mind. The grass and trees were shades of blue, a lake off to the left was purple, and the sky was a pale dusky orange with three suns of different sizes visible. The tentacles squeezed past him, which started Ben moving again even though most of his concentration was still on the spectacular views. They darted off to the side, drawing his attention, but before he could work out what was happening, they’d pounced on something he couldn’t see and were retracting again. Once he got a closer look, he realised they had caught a small mammal that, like the environment, looked alien but his brain rationalised as a weird rabbit. They presented the animal to him, and it suddenly clicked – the creature had caught and killed it for him because it had sensed he needed food. He took the gift and tried to remember everything they’d been taught about surviving in the wild, hoping that it would also apply here. He’d need to skin and prepare the animal, but thankfully he had a heavy-duty pocketknife in the pocket of his uniform so that would make that task easier. Also he’d need a way to cook it, because eating raw meat wasn’t likely to end well, so he cocked his head towards the tentacles and sent them an image of the animal over a small campfire, hoping they’d be able to help with that as well. They darted off again, this time returning a little later with a bundle of sticks and logs, and then ushered him back inside.

Ben followed them through the winding corridors until they reached a room he’d briefly seen on his exploration that had a large fireplace at one end and appeared like it may have once been used as a kitchen. The tentacles deposited the wood next to the fireplace, and drew back, presumably wanting to stay clear of the fire. Ben started piling the wood up in the way he’d learnt as a kid, begrudgingly thankful that their father had spent so long drilling wildness survival into each of them, and considered how he was going to light the fire without a lighter or a tinder kit. But then something caught his eye off to the side of the fireplace, and he spotted what did in fact look like an old-fashioned flint, left behind by the temple’s previous occupants. He packed the centre of the wood pile with wood shavings and then struck the flint, dropping sparks into the pile. It took a few attempts, but he managed to get it to flare up and take, and soon he had a proper little fire going. He sat back with a pleased smile on his face, enjoying the result of his efforts for a few moments before he turned to the less pleasant task of skinning and gutting the rabbit. A search of the decrepit cupboards returned a collection of crockery and silverware as well as some other bits and pieces that looked like they were used for preparing food, so using them Ben set himself up a little workstation at the table. Firstly, he needed to go and wash the dust off everything however, so he backtracked to the room he’d found with a well in the centre, drew himself a bucket of water, and then got to work.

Ben spent his days after that split between trying to open a portal, dredging up all his father’s old training techniques (or at least the ones that had actually helped the first time around), and working to make the temple a more liveable place. With the help of the creature, he built up a supply of wood for the fire, catalogued everything in the temple that was of use to him, and was slowly working through identifying what he could and couldn’t eat. He also spent some time just exploring the surrounding area, wandering through the hills and around the lake, and trekking to the forest. It was the latter that he discovered was inhabited by tiny dragons that appeared to both eat and camouflage themselves in the fruit on the trees and bushes. They were a whole rainbow of colours, seeming to be a different species for each type of fruit, and Ben found himself enthralled. He spent hours one day sat watching them scamper around, and by the time he headed back to the temple, the bravest of them had started to cautiously approach him. One, a deep red creature that looked kind of like a traditional Chinese dragon, even went so far as to scurry up his arm to perch on his shoulder like a pirate captain’s parrot.

“I’m going to call you Mushu,” Ben told the dragon, thinking back to when he and his siblings had snuck out to see Mulan when it was showing at the local movie theater.

“I should probably give the creature a name too, because it seems rude to just keep referring to it that way,” He continued, talking softly so he didn’t scare the dragons, “There’s Cthulhu, but that’s too obvious, and there’s the Kraken, but then I’d be basically naming it after Diego which, well might be worth it just to see the look on his face when he found out.” Ben studiously didn’t think about the fact that he might never see his brother again, not letting those depressing thoughts get him down when he was surrounded by alien nature and tiny dragons.

“How about Hastur?” Ben asked Mushu, sounding out the name of one of the other great old ones from the Cthulhu mythos. Ironically enough, the book he’d been reading the night before the mission had been one of the early Cthulhu novels, and a name from that sounded better than a ‘person name’ like Peggy or Steve.

“Yeah, Hastur it is,” Ben decided, smiling as Mushu scrambled off his shoulder and ran back to join his friends.

While he was making progress with relearning to use his powers and continuously working to improve his base in the temple, there were also the nights where everything got too much and all he could do was curl up in his blanket and cry. He missed his siblings and his mom with everything he had, and sometimes it was hard to believe he’d ever make it home. Those nights he was especially glad for Hastur’s presence, because they would wrap some of their tentacles around Ben’s shoulders and do their best to provide comfort. They couldn’t miraculously fix Ben’s issues, but the company definitely helped, and even at the worst points, Ben was glad he wasn’t alone.

It helped when he made a breakthrough with his training and was able to open a window to his own world. He couldn’t yet reach through the barrier between dimensions, but he was able to watch what was going on, and after some practice he was able to open the window at a specific place or centred on a specific person. With the help of an old mirror he’d found in the depths of the temple, he was able to check in on each member of his family and see how they were doing. Vanya and Diego appeared to have left the academy to go to college and the police academy respectively, and Ben mentally cheered for them, even as he wondered briefly if his disappearance had been what finally drove them to leave. Klaus however was a different matter, as he appeared to have dived headfirst into the drugs and alcohol that were his only defence against the ghosts that constantly haunted him, and Ben wished more than ever that he was there to help. When he looked for his father, to see if the old man even cared that he was gone, Ben found him sat in the courtyard reading a newspaper but was immediately distracted by the new statue off to one side. It was a statue of Ben but Ben as he was in the early days of the academy when their father was least disappointed in him. Ben stared for a moment, taking in the image, and was abruptly confronted by the fact that his family all thought he was dead. No one was looking for him.

As the days and weeks and months went by, he kept checking in on his family, mostly feeling less homesick when he was able to see how they were doing even if he still wasn’t able to communicate with them or be involved in any way. It was Alison who finally made him realise what it was that had been niggling at him, the something that wasn’t quite right when he watched them. She left the academy for Hollywood and the acting career she’d always dreamed of, and then suddenly her first movie was being released, and while Ben admitted he didn’t know that much about making movies, he was certain that it took longer than that, even if his sister had used her abilities on everyone involved to get them to work quicker. After that he opened window after window looking for something that would confirm his suspicion until he was back to his father in the courtyard again, and finally spotted the date on the day’s newspaper. By Ben’s estimate, he’d been gone nearly nine months, but the newspaper said otherwise. The newspaper said three years. Clearly time moved faster on Earth that it did in the dimension Ben was in, so he was literally watching his siblings grow older in front of his eyes. He severed the link and sat back heavily, trying to wrap his head around the new information. Then right on time, called by his shock and distress, Hastur’s tentacles appeared, wrapping Ben in a tight hug. Ben clung to them, using the contact as a lifeline to stave off the panic.

“It’s okay,” He told himself aloud, “It doesn’t change anything. The plan is still the same. I’m going to train until I can get home again and then I can see the others once more. It doesn’t matter if they’ll be a few years older. They’re still my siblings.”

And then later that evening, on a whim because he was now missing his family more than usual and that got him thinking about his deceased brother, he concentrated on his memories of Five, expecting nothing to happen, but the portal opened just like with the others and he found himself staring out at an empty wasteland. He spotted a man pulling a cart along a long-deserted highway but didn't realise who he was seeing until the man stopped and pulled down the scarf covering his face to take a sip of water. It was Five, looking at least twice as old as he was when he disappeared and like he’d been through hell. He was alive and presumably stuck somewhere like Ben himself was, just in a less hospitable landscape. Ben mentally amended his plan, adding on a second goal for once he learnt how to dimension hop – get back home AND rescue Five, because if he could travel between Earth and here, surely, he could travel to wherever Five was too.

The next time Ben was on his way back from his semi-regular trip to the forest to gather supplies and to hang out with the dragons, he realised he had a stowaway in his pack. He’d just stopped to have a drink and a snack, but when he went to open his pack to grab a piece of fruit, he was confronted by Mushu’s head poking out and giving Ben what was definitely would have been a cheeky grin if he was human.

“What are you doing in there?” Ben asked, wagging his finger at the tiny dragon, “Your home is back that way.” He carefully lifted Mushu out of his pack and set him on the ground, shooing him back towards the forest. The dragon didn’t want to cooperate though, because he immediately scampered back up onto Ben’s pack and made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere. Ben chuckled and resigned himself to having a passenger, moving Mushu just long enough to actually retrieve a piece of fruit, before re-shouldering his pack and starting off towards the temple again. As he walked, he told Mushu about the recent changes he’d made to the base like improving the well, and what he was planning on doing next, and then moved on to recounting the story of the last mystery novel he’d read. He couldn’t quite remember how all the twists and turns went, but it wasn’t like Mushu could understand him, never mind know what happened in a random book Ben had borrowed from the public library.

Once they got closer to the temple, Hastur sent some of their tentacles out to greet them, brushing against Ben in greeting but keeping a safe distance from Mushu so as to not scare the small creature. Ben ran a hand along the closest tentacle in response, projecting both success and amusement, the latter because of Mushu who was currently snapping at the tentacles to see if he could scare them off. The sheer size difference made the act hilarious, and it reminded Ben of small dogs back on Earth barking at other dogs twice their size because they apparently had no fear. Of course, Hastur was way bigger than twice Mushu’s size. Mushu was the size of a small cat, so Ben could easily pick him up and carry him, whereas Hastur was so large, Ben still hadn’t seen the extent of their body. The tentacles continued right into the depths of the temple and if they were fully extended, the width of them at that point was larger than Ben was tall, but he didn’t know if that even scratched the surface of Hastur’s full size. For all he knew, the tentacles could even be an extension of the planet itself. A living planet like in the comics he and Klaus used to read. After a while when the tentacles hadn’t made any threatening moves, Mushu decided that they were safe territory to explore and jumped off Ben’s shoulder onto the closest one and went scampering off to explore. Ben felt his amusement reflected back at him and went off to start cooking his evening meal with a warm feeling in his chest, keeping one eye on Mushu just in case. He didn’t want the little guy to accidentally get lost after all.

Mushu was also visiting when Ben opened a proper portal for the first time since leaving Earth. Ben was practicing, not expecting anything other than the usual, but as soon as he opened the portal, he could feel that it was different this time. He poked it with his finger cautiously, and sure enough, it went through.

“Yes!” He cried out, before having to abruptly spin around so Mushu couldn’t launch himself through and escape to Earth. While Ben was sure the little guy would love exploring a new planet, he didn’t think it would be a good idea for Earth itself, letting a brand-new species roam free. He let the portal close and turned back around, scooping up the dragon and hurrying from the room. He was impatient to try opening a portal again, but he didn’t want to risk Mushu going through so he made his way to the room upstairs where he’d made a nest on the windowsill and put him down there. He grabbed a couple of pieces of fruit from the kitchen on the way and set them next to the nest, hoping the food would serve as enough of a distraction to keep the dragon from immediately following him back to the mirror room.

“Stay,” Ben told Mushu, before slipping out of the room and rushing back to where he’d been training. He settled back in front of the mirror, took a breath, and then opened another portal, grinning widely when he felt the same sensation as before. He was looking into the academy library, just above the writing desk looking out over the courtyard, and as usual there was no one around. Sat on the desk where someone had abandoned them was a notepad and pen, so Ben decided to test his returning powers by reaching through and grabbing both, pulling them back through into his lap. He didn’t have much use for them at the moment, but that didn’t matter. He was one step closer to going home! The door to his right creaked softly as it was nudged open, and Ben glanced over, hoping it wasn’t Mushu again. It was one of Hastur’s tentacles though, and it snaked over and curled around Ben’s shoulder, bringing with it a warm sense of praise. Ben smiled again, and then had an idea. Most of his siblings never went in the library, and Vanya was now long gone so there was no danger of her noticing anything missing. He projected the image of books, along with the feel of a question, and was rewarded by the tentacle extending further and darting into his stomach. It was a rather odd sensation, having a tentacle go _into_ his stomach instead of reaching out, but it just showed how different things were now. A few moments passed, and then the tentacle pulled back again, bringing with it a small stack of books snagged from one of the many shelves.

“You’re the best!” Ben exclaimed to the tentacle, and while he knew Hastur wouldn’t understand his words, he knew his excitement would be evident for them to feel. He took the stack and set them down on the floor in front of him before running a finger down the spines to decide what to read first. The books weren’t all ones that he’d necessarily choose to read in other circumstances but given that he’d not read a book in almost two years, he’d take whatever he could get. The tentacle squeezed his shoulder again and then retracted, leaving him to it.

The pen and paper did come in handy a few weeks later, although it was hard for Ben to feel happy about it given the circumstances. He checked on Klaus as usual, only to find him passed out in an alley. He had no chance of reaching his brother from the portal, so he asked Hastur to shake him gently, taking the risk that someone might see the tentacles appearing from nowhere, given Klaus’ life was potentially at stake. The tentacles reached through the portal and shook Klaus, but there was no response. The only thing that stopped Ben from completely freaking out was the faint rise and fall of Klaus’ chest, letting him that his brother was still alive. He hurriedly looked around what he could see of the area, gaze focusing on a street sign at the edge of the portal window. Okay, so he had a location, he just needed to get someone there who could help. He grabbed the notebook and pen and scribbled down the street name, before reluctantly closing the portal and opening another to Diego. Diego was just getting into his car in the alley behind the police station, so Ben quickly added the word ‘URGENT’ under the street name, tore the sheet from the notepad and dropped it through the portal, just inside the passenger window of the car. Diego must have caught movement from the corner of his eye because he glanced over at where the scrap of paper was now resting on the seat. Picking it up, he scanned the note and then muttered, albeit with a fond expression on his face, “You could ask nicely, Eudora.” Ben couldn’t hear the words, but he and his siblings had learned to read each other’s lips at an early age, so he knew what Diego had said and could picture his tone exactly despite the lack of sound coming from the other side of the portal. Diego then kicked the car into gear, letting the paper fall again as he raced off. Ben swapped back to the portal focused on Klaus, thankful to see he was no worse off than before, and settled in to keep a watchful vigil over him until Diego arrived.

A short while later, a car came to a halt just at the edge of the area Ben could see through the portal and he tensed up, ready to defend Klaus with Hastur’s tentacles if necessary. Luckily it was just Diego, who got out of the car and then darted forward when he spotted the unconscious figure on the ground. Ben saw the exact moment that Diego recognised their brother, as Diego’s expression shuttered and his movements became more urgent. He checked Klaus’ pulse, breathing, and airways, before searching Klaus’ pockets and coming back with a mostly empty bag of pills. Ben could see Diego swearing in at least two languages, even if he couldn’t hear the words, and whole heartedly agreed with the sentiment. He knew _why_ Klaus made a point of spending every minute he could of his life high, anything to drown out the ghosts that constantly haunted him, but it didn’t make it any easier to watch the aftermath. Diego scooped Klaus up in his arms and hurried back to the car, laying Klaus carefully on the backseat, before jumping into the driver’s seat and peeling away from the kerb. Ben let the portal close and sat back, forcing himself to take a few deep breaths before he did anything else. Now Klaus’ wellbeing was out of his hands, there was nothing to do but watch and wait, and hope his brother would be fine.

After successfully getting Diego to take Klaus to hospital, Ben started meddling in his siblings’ lives in other small ways. He slipped Alison tickets to Vanya’s latest show, and left Klaus and Diego notes signed from each other arranging to meet up. Klaus found an advert for an art class in his pocket, and Diego got a cassette of his favourite band. He didn’t try anything with Luther, because he was still in the academy firmly under their father’s thumb, but he did what he could to try and help repair the bonds between the rest of his siblings, as well as making them individually happier. After Ben stole and read a copy of Vanya’s book, he left a flyer for a therapist as if it’d been pushed under her door. He was upset at some of the things she’d written, especially when the section about him hit too close to home, but over two years’ involuntary separation from his family had given him a fresh perspective so he was able to see her point of view too. God knows every single one of them probably needed therapy of one kind or another after growing up in the academy.

He could have tried to let them know he was still alive, but when he’d finally got the ability to do so, he’d found he was reluctant to make contact. He’d gotten used to being a silent watcher and it just felt too mean to give them hope again when they’d all mourned him and moved on with their lives, given that he still didn’t know if he’d ever be able to get back. He didn’t want them to have to lose him twice.

When Ben finally managed to open to portal large enough to step through, he’d been stuck in the other dimension a little over three . He was sat in front of the mirror training, and as usual had opened a portal to each of his siblings in turn, before just opening them more or less at random to practice opening portals at speed. One portal opened felt different to the others, but before he could identify what exactly had changed, the portal grew large enough to completely engulf him and he suddenly found himself in the middle of the park near the academy. It was night, and thankfully there was no one around to see him appear from nowhere, and no one to see him jump to his feet and cry out excitedly. He focused his power again and the portal flared up once more, allowing him to step back through to Hastur’s dimension where he broadcasted his excitement and success out across their psychic connection. Several tentacles reached through the doorway a few moments later and swept Ben up in their approximation of a hug, almost pulling him off his feet. Ben hugged them back and then wriggled free of their grasp, wanting to practice some more until he could jump between dimensions without issue. He travelled back and forth several times, to Paris, to LA, to his favourite bookstore, and soon discovered he had to go via the other dimension – he couldn’t teleport from one place on earth to another like Five could, but he now felt he could reliably step between the two worlds at whim. And thinking of Five, he opened a portal focused on his brother, took a deep breath and then stepped through, appearing just off to one side of the road several metres in front of the other man. Five immediately pulled a rifle from the same cart he’d had when Ben first saw him, albeit a fair bit more dinged up now, and swung the barrel up to point directly at Ben’s centre mass. Ben raised his hands slowly, and not even bothering to fight the grin that was spreading across his face, he said, “Five, it’s me. Ben.”

“Ben?” Five asked disbelievingly, “How are you here?” He let the barrel of the gun dip (although not so much he couldn’t swing it back up at an instant’s notice), and stared at Ben, making no move towards him. Deciding it was safe enough, Ben let his arms drop again and started towards his brother, saying, “It’s a long story, but essentially I’ve learnt to travel between dimensions.”

“…I thought you were dead,” Five stated, still staring as if he couldn’t believe Ben was really there in front of him, “I saw your statue in the ruins of the academy. I read Vanya’s book.”

“I got stuck in Hastur’s- uh, the tentacle creature’s dimension and had to relearn how to use my powers,” Ben told him as he stopped just a few feet from Five.

“The others don’t know I’m alive yet,” He added with a slight wince, “I only just figured out how to cross between dimensions on purpose.”

“I’m glad you’re alive,” Five said, a little stiffly, and then Ben ducked around the rifle and hugged him before he could do or say anything else.

“I’m glad you’re alive too,” Ben replied with a small grin, stepping back before asking, “What happened to you? Where are we?” Five set the rifle back in the cart, leaning it next to the upper body of a mannequin wearing a blouse that looked like it was once pretty fancy but had seen better days, unsurprising given the wasteland Five had been travelling around.

“Father was right,” Five stated, tucking his hands into his trouser pockets and looking off into the distance, “I jumped forward in time and I couldn’t get back. I’ve been stuck here ever since.”

“Wait,” Ben interjected, rapidly putting things together in his head, “How far in the future are we? And what happened to cause this?” He gestured at their surroundings with both hands, tearing his gaze from Five long enough to properly take in the scenery. It was barren waste for as far as he could see, occasionally interspersed with what looked liked the ruins of civilisation, and belatedly he realised he couldn’t see any other signs of life.

“It’s 2037. And the apocalypse happened,” Five said bluntly, looking back at Ben, “I don’t know what happened, but I know when. April 1st, 2019.”

“Holy shit. That’s maybe two years away,” Ben blurted out, looking faintly nauseous. He spotted Five eyeing him, clearly having noticed that Ben didn’t look twenty-eight, so he shoved down the fear and added, “Time flows differently in the other dimension. So, for me it’s been a bit over three years since I left, but as far as I can tell it’s been more like ten years on Earth.” Five snorted and muttered drily, “What a pair we make.”

“I’ve not attempted travelling with another person yet, but I think I can take you with me,” Ben said, spurred on by the thought of this apocalypse. He held his hand out to his brother, who despite being born on the same day now looked ten years older than him, and waited for Five to process what he was offering. Ben knew well the conflict of emotions that came from being stuck somewhere for years and then suddenly being able to go home so he waited patiently. It _had_ just happened to him after all.

“What about Delores?” Was all Five asked in the end. Ben followed his gaze to the mannequin sat in the cart and shrugged. He’d only just managed to travel through a portal himself, never mind with passengers so he had no idea what the limits were.

“I can try. And if it doesn’t work, I can open the portal again and get Hastur to pull her through,” Ben replied, trying not to think about the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to take Five with him at all. Five nodded, scooped Delores up under one arm, and then took Ben’s hand, watching him intently.

“Here goes,” Ben murmured to himself, before concentrating on making the portal as large as possible. He was immediately transported back to the room with the stone plinth in Hastur’s dimension, and as soon as he processed that he’d travelled, he tugged on Five’s hand, still fighting to keep the portal open. A giant wave of relief washed over Ben as his brother and Delores both appeared in front of him, and he let the portal close, suddenly feeling a lot more tired than he had been. Transporting people was obviously going to need more practice, if it left him this drained afterwards.

“Do you want me to grab any of your stuff?” Ben asked, wavering only slightly as he let go of Five’s hand.

“Are you alright?” Five asked with a frown, focusing on Ben instead of answering the question. He then spun around, immediately teleporting across the room as several tentacles reached through the doorway, and while Ben knew they had nothing to fear, he supposed he couldn’t blame Five for thinking otherwise when his only exposure to them had been watching Ben kill people and destroy things in training. Ben stepped forward and stumbled, but the tentacles reached out to grab him before he could fall, and gently ushered him back towards the plinth so he could rest against it, projecting concern for Ben’s wellbeing as well as curiosity about the new people.

“Five, this is Hastur, who you may know as the tentacles that sometimes come out of my stomach,” Ben told his brother, the tiredness making the situation seem rather amusing. At the same time, he sent the idea of Five being his missing brother as best as he could, before attempting to convey that Delores was a friend of Five’s. He wasn’t exactly sure what they were to each other, but relationships were a complicated concept to convey in purely images and emotions, so the details would probably be lost in translation anyway.

“We have a psychic connection,” Ben added for Five’s benefit, glad to see Five teleporting closer again when it became clear that none of them were in immediate danger. He carefully set Delores down on the plinth, propped up against the wall, and then moved closer to Ben, eyeing the tentacles with undisguised interest.

“Nice to meet you,” Five greeted, flinching when one tentacle reached out and curled around his shoulder in lieu of a handshake. He quickly adjusted though, taking his lead from Ben’s lack of discomfort at the tentacles touching him. Then he twisted slightly towards Ben and said, “I think we should wait until the morning before we try that again.”

“Yeah… Good idea,” Ben agreed, stifling a yawn, “Come on, I’ll show you to the kitchen and we can have dinner, and then get some rest.”

The next morning, they had breakfast and then got ready to leave. Admittedly the process didn’t take long, because Five and Delores had nothing with them, and Ben could come back whenever he wanted. Ben could hear Five talking quietly to Delores on the other side of the room as he had a conversation of sorts with Hastur, saying goodbye for now but that he’d be back. He also reaffirmed his decision that had partially led to the whole situation – no more killing, and no more doing things just because their father told him to. He might have imagined it, but he thought he felt a faint sense of pride from Hastur, and well that was more than he’d ever gotten from their father. He patted one of the tentacles where it was wrapped around his arm, and then turned to his brother to ask, “Ready?”

Five looked up, nodded, and then replied, “Delores is going to stay here for now, just while we deal with the situation on the other side. I trust she’ll be safe?”

“Yeah. The only other creature who might turn up is Mushu, and she’s not made of fruit, so he won’t be too interested,” Ben told him with a small grin, “Mushu is a tiny dragon about this big.” He held his hands out in front of him, about as far apart as Mushu was long – about a foot, and added, “There’s a whole community of them living in the forest.”

“Huh,” Five commented, resettling Delores in the chair they’d found for her and putting one of the books Ben had taken from the library on the table next to her.

“I’ll see you again soon,” He murmured, before crossing the room to Ben and sticking his hand out.

“Where do you want to go?” Ben asked as he took Five’s hand, “None of our siblings are left at the Academy, they’ve all got their own lives now other than Luther who’s living on the moon.” Five snorted, presumably thinking of how apt Luther’s old codename was.

“Let’s go to the Academy first, and then we can let the others know we’re alive,” Five suggested. Ben didn’t know what his brother was planning to do when they got back, but regardless it sounded like a decent idea. He pictured the entranceway of the Academy in his mind and then opened a portal, focusing on holding it open long enough to pull Five through with him. It took a lot out of him again, but he didn’t feel like he was about to topple over this time, possibly due to the night’s rest and only taking one other person with him, not two.

“I’ll find you when I’m done here,” Five said, before teleporting away to do who knows what. Ben took a moment to look around, marvelling at how much it felt like he’d returned to the exact day he left because absolutely nothing had changed, and then set off in search of one of the remaining inhabitants of the academy.

He found his father in his study, writing in his journal in the same way he had spent so many evenings doing so when his children were still living there. Ben knocked on the door, force of habit not letting him step over the threshold even after three (or ten, depending on perspective) years away.  

“I see you’ve finally decided to come back, Number Six,” Sir Reginald said as he looked up, not appearing at all surprised to see one of his missing sons stood there.

“You knew I was alive this whole time?” Ben asked incredulously.

“I suspected so when there was no body in the museum, and my suspicions were proven correct when you first took books from the library, thinking no one would notice,” Sir Reginald said dismissively. Ben didn’t know what to say to that. On the few occasions he’d checked in on his father, he’d never given any indication that he knew Ben was alive or that he even cared Ben was dead/missing.

“Now go and get changed into something more presentable, and then you can demonstrate what you’ve learnt while you’ve been gone,” Sir Reginald ordered, his tone of voice making Ben reply with a, “Yes sir,” before he’d even thought about it. He slipped away down the hall, in the opposite direction to his bedroom, mulling over the brief conversation and how the lack of care from his father still stung even though he knew very well not to expect anything different. When he’d pictured the first meeting in his head, he imagined himself shouting at his father, making a big display of his commitment to not kill anymore, and maybe storming out when his father showed his displeasure, but he found now that he just didn’t care enough. And just in case he needed to stay at the Academy, it would be better not to cause a fuss anyway. He headed back downstairs and eventually found his mom and Pogo, both of whom were much happier to see him, in their own measured ways. He sat there chatting quietly to them, until Five appeared and had his own reunion. Their mom wanted to make cookies to celebrate, but Ben could tell Five was already restless and he didn’t exactly want to stick around the Academy himself, so he gently told her they had to go. He felt bad about it, but he vowed to come back and visit her, probably when their father wasn’t around. Five looked at Ben’s glass of milk, which was the only thing he’d let their mom get for him, and then said, “Come on, Ben. Let’s go somewhere where we can get a decent cup of coffee.” Ben gave their mom another hug, and then waved goodbye to her and Pogo, following Five from the room. Or at least in the direction he guessed Five was heading, given that his brother had done his usual trick of teleporting out.

“We’ll take the car,” Five told Ben as he reappeared in the hallway, “I made a few calls. I know where Diego and Vanya are.”

“Diego might know where to find Klaus,” Ben suggested, heading towards the garage. He glanced over at Five, considering whether to tell him what he’d done while stuck in the other dimension, and then decided there was no reason not to so added, “I got them to hang out a few times by leaving notes addressed from each other.” Of course, the first time had been Diego getting Klaus to a hospital after he OD’ed but that wasn’t really relevant right now.

“Only you, Ben. Only you,” Five said with a chuckle, but his tone was fond, and he reached out to ruffle Ben’s hair, so Ben couldn’t really take offence. He did however duck out of the way with a sound of protest, shaking his head to get his hair to settle again. Five then teleported ahead again, and so by the time Ben reached the garage, Five had the car started and ready to go. Ben climbed into the passenger seat and did up his seatbelt, and then waited until Five had reversed out and set off before asking the question that had been on his mind.

“Why are you in such a rush to see the others? It seems like there’s more to it than just letting them know we’re alive.”

“The more time we have to try and prevent the apocalypse, the better,” Five replied, glancing at Ben briefly, “And the Umbrella Academy is the best resource we have to achieve that. I’m hoping that you and I being here will be enough to stop it, seeing as I didn’t find any evidence of either of us being there the first time around.”

“But you don’t want to chance it,” Ben finished, nodding in understanding. He’d only had brief glimpses of the future, but he knew anything that was bad enough to wipe out the entire human race had to be stopped if they could do so.

A little while later they pulled up outside the gym that Diego was living in, and after getting directions from the owner, they headed through to the back of the building where the boiler room was. Ben knocked on the door and then rocked back on his heels as he waited for a response. He felt Five disappear from next to him, but before he could call out, the door opened to reveal Diego with a knife in his hand.

“Hey,” Ben greeted him, suddenly nervous but trying to hide it.

“Ben? How-?” Diego said, staring like he’d seen a ghost which Ben supposed was in fact kind of close to the current situation.

“Long story, but I’m not dead and neither’s Five. He’s…” Ben paused and glanced around, spotting Five at the bottom of the stairs behind Diego, “Behind you.” Diego spun around, sheathing the knife in the same fluid movement, and Ben took that as an invitation to step inside the apartment.

“We were both stuck unable to get home,” Five informed Diego in lieu of a greeting, “Ben in another dimension and myself in the future.” Now that the knife was safely away, Ben took another step forward and pulled Diego into a tight hug, relishing the ability to interact with other humans again.

“Thank you for looking after Klaus,” Ben said softly into Diego’s shoulder.

“Of course, he’s my brother too,” Diego replied automatically, before his brain caught up to his mouth and he pulled back enough to look Ben in the eye.

“Wait, how do you know about that?” Ben gave him a lopsided grin and explained, “The note you thought was from the detective was actually from me. I was able to reach between dimensions before I learnt how to travel back.” Before Diego could start asking questions, of which Ben was sure he had plenty, he asked one of his own, “Do you know where he is now?”

“I know where to look,” Diego replied, attention clearly more on the two brothers that had from his point of view just come back from the dead, but the answer was good enough for Ben.

“Come on then,” Five interjected, apparently done with inspecting Diego’s room and ready to get moving again.

“We’re rounding up everyone still in town for reunion donuts and so we can talk about what happened,” Ben explained as he turned and left the apartment again, glancing over his shoulder to check Diego was following. Five teleported to the top of the stairs, clasped a hand to Diego’s shoulder as a wordless affirmation, and then teleported away again. Diego rolled his eyes and muttered, “I didn’t miss that,” but Ben saw the expression on his face and could tell he was just glad to have them both back. He didn’t mention it though, and instead just said, “The car’s outside. Let’s go find Klaus.”

When they reached the shelter that Diego thought Klaus was currently staying at, Ben and Five hung back while Diego went to the front desk to ask after their brother. Through the window they could see the receptionist make a call and then a few minutes later, Klaus himself appeared, grinning widely when he spotted Diego. They exchanged a few words, and then Diego led the way outside, saying with a straight face as he opened the door, “There’s a couple of people who want to see you.” Ben snorted because of course Diego couldn’t break the news like a normal person, and that drew Klaus’ attention. There was a split second where Klaus froze in shock, processing the sight in front of him, but then he launched himself at Ben and flung his arms around him as soon as he was close enough.

“Ben! You’re here! Looking so young and lifelike!” Klaus exclaimed, his hair tickling Ben’s nose.

“I missed you too,” Ben murmured, clutching Klaus tight until Diego clasped Klaus’ shoulder and said pointedly, “It’s not just Ben who’s back.” They let go of each other reluctantly, turning towards Five who now that Klaus was actually paying attention to him, and given the situation, caused a spark of recognition to flit across Klaus’ face.

“And can it be? Little Number Five, all grown up?”

“Hello Klaus,” Five said with a faint smile, bracing himself for the energetic embrace that was clearly coming his way. Klaus had always been the most physically affectionate of them, even if it had been tamped down when they were kids by their father’s rules, but it didn’t surprise Ben that spending half his life alone would have sent Five the other way. Five let Klaus hug him though, which he could have easily avoided by teleporting away if he’d wanted to.

“Come on, back in the car. Let’s go to Griddy’s,” Diego said after a few moments, when it looked like Five was about to teleport out of the hug anyway.

“We’ve still got to find Vanya,” Ben corrected, opening the car door so he and Klaus could get in the backseat.

“She doesn’t deserve to be part of the family after what she did,” Diego spat, anger suddenly marring his features as he balled his hands into fists, thankfully not resorting to throwing knives as they were in public. There was a beat of silence as the other three turned to look at him, and then as if realising Ben and Five might not know what he was talking about, he gritted out, “She wrote a book sharing all our secrets with the world.”

“I know,” Five stated at the same time as Ben said, “I’ve read it.”

“And you’re not angry?” Diego demanded, scowling as Ben shook his head and Five just looked inscrutable.

“Think about it from her point of view,” Ben started, before noticing Diego’s expression harden impossibly further and changing tack, just saying, “Time and perspective.”

“Being stuck far from home helps you realise what’s important,” Five added. Diego deflated a little, and Klaus reached for his wrist, tugging on it with a familiarity that Ben hadn’t seen in years and couldn’t help but feel happy about his part in making it happen.

“You don’t need to like her, D,” Klaus told him, his lighthearted tone further diffusing the situation in that uniquely Klaus way, “Just sit and eat donuts so our newly returned brothers can see their little sister.” Vanya had been born on the same day as the rest of them, but her quietness had always given the impression that she was younger, so it’d become a joke to refer to her as the baby of the family. Diego let himself be ushered into the car as the other three also piled in, Five teleporting straight to the driver’s seat, although he was still glowering.

“I suppose Ben’s the baby now though,” Klaus added with a teasing grin as they pulled away from the curb, “Given that he looks about twelve.”

“Hey!” Ben protested, reaching over to shove Klaus lightly, “I’m actually twenty, I’ll have you know.” He knew even as he was speaking that his words only furthered Klaus’ point, given that most of their siblings were twenty eight and by Ben’s calculations Five was thirty-one or thirty-two, but it was just one of the many things he was going to have to get used to.

“Klaus is right then,” Diego said, turning slightly in his seat so he could look back at Ben with a grin that looked somewhat forced, but at least he was trying, “You really are the youngest. Unless Five is the world’s oldest looking teenager.”

“I’m thirty-one,” Five said, his only contribution to the conversation given that he was acting like he was above their playful banter, but Ben caught the small amused smirk in the rear-view mirror, so he wasn’t fooled.

The conversation continued until Five stopped the car again, this time outside the side door of a theatre Ben vaguely recognised as where Vanya had orchestra rehearsals.

“She should be out shortly,” Five commented as he glanced at the time, and sure enough a few minutes later people started filtering out carrying instrument cases of various shapes and sizes. Ben leant towards Klaus so he could peer out of the window and watch for Vanya, eventually spotting her in conversation with a young woman carrying what Ben would guess was a trumpet case. Klaus wound down the window and stuck his head out, waving wildly at her as called out, “Hey Van-Van, we’re getting donuts!” Vanya gave an amused smile as she looked around and spotted Klaus, and then said goodbye to the other woman and headed over towards the car.

“Hi Klaus, Diego,” She said as she got closer. Her mouth made a little ‘o’ of surprise when she noticed Ben sat in the back with Klaus, and she almost dropped her violin. Klaus pushed open the door and scooted over so she could climb in, beaming widely at her.

“Both our presumed but not actually deceased brothers are back,” Klaus told her, “So it’s a celebration!” Vanya climbed into the car, still staring at Ben until she processed Klaus’ words and slowly looked towards the final occupant of the car who she’d paid no attention to until now.

“Five...? Is that really you?” She asked tentatively, clearly struggling to believe it despite knowing it had to be him. They only had _two_ brothers who’d been missing or presumed dead after all, which given who they were could have easily been more.

“Nice to see you again, Vanya,” Five replied warmly, turning in his seat to smile at her. Vanya sat back in her seat as Five drove off once more, twisting slightly so she could reach out and squeeze Ben’s hand.

“How are you both here?” She asked, looking between Ben and Five and still clutching Ben’s hand. Given that he was clinging onto her just as much, with Klaus pressed firmly against his side, Ben didn’t mind one bit.

“Yeah, will you tell us now everyone who can be here is here?” Diego added, curiosity winning out over his anger at their sister. Ben glanced at what he could see of Five in front of him before starting to explain what had happened since that fateful day when he last spoke to them. Midway through the story they arrived at the donut shop, so he paused while they all scrambled out, ordered food and drink, and then seated themselves in a booth, Ben squashed between Diego and Klaus with Five and Vanya sat opposite.

“…and then I transported us both back to the Academy,” Ben finished a while later, the donuts still sitting untouched in the middle of the table as everyone had been too busy listening to eat.

“I have just one comment to make, Benny boy,” Klaus spoke up, eyes twinkling as he drew the attention from Ben to himself.

“I’d forgotten just how much of a nerd you are,” He said, descending into giggles before he had even properly finished speaking. Ben gave him a mock offended look, causing Diego and Vanya to start laughing too, and even Five to give a small smirk.

“You go to another dimension, meet the giant creature who sometimes sticks its tentacles through your stomach and a tiny dragon who becomes your pet, and you name them both after fictional characters,” Klaus went on to explain between bouts of laughter.

“The names seemed appropriate,” Ben replied with a shrug, smiling contentedly at being surrounded by his siblings laughing and joking, even if it was at his expense.

“How about you, Five?” Vanya asked once she’d calmed down again.

“After I ran out on dinner, I travelled forward in time and eventually got stuck. Everything had been destroyed and there no sign of life, or of what had happened. Essentially the world had ended. And I was stuck there for nineteen years until Ben appeared,” Five informed them, the mood at the table becoming a lot more somber at the mention of the apocalypse.

“We’ve got two years until it happens,” Ben added after a short pause. Five nodded in agreement and said, “I found a newspaper with the date on, which must have been the day it happened. April 1st, 2019.”

“But you don’t know what caused it,” Diego stated, scowling as Five shook his head.

“Bummer,” Klaus commented, expression saying he understood the seriousness of the revelation despite his mild word.

“Two years to work out what happens and stop it,” Vanya summed up, toying with the donut she’d just picked up instead of eating it. Ben didn’t blame her for suddenly not having much appetite though.

“We do have one advantage over last time,” Five said, tone a little reluctant implying he didn’t really want to tell them what he was about to.

“What’s that?” Diego asked, prompting Five to continue anyway.

“When I went back to the academy, I found most of you dead in the ruins. You two,” He gestured to Klaus and Diego, “Alison, Luther. Vanya, you weren’t there, and I found your statue, Ben, so I knew you’d already died previously.” There was several moments of silence as they let it sink in, before Five added, “So this time around we have me and Ben, and hopefully that will make all the difference.”

“And me,” Vanya said firmly, “I might not have powers, but I can still help.” Five gave a nod, and then Ben said simply, “Together we might stand a chance.”

**Author's Note:**

> Fruit dragons inspired by [gaudibuendia's art.](https://www.deviantart.com/gaudibuendia/art/Cherry-dragon-584333279)


End file.
